The Great Crossroads
The Great Crossroads The Great Crossroads is a plane which runs adjacent to the Trave. Its vast, open wasteland is notable only for the four roads of travel that begin there. By walking these roads a traveler can find themselves lead to almost any place in the universe. Planar Traits *'Normal Gravity' *'Normal Time' *'Infinite Size' *'Alterable Morphic' *'Mildly Neutral-Aligned' *'Limited Magic (Teleportion Effects)' Description Considered a haven of exploration and travel, the Crossroads is a demiplane parallel to the Trave. Its four roads cut through endless miles of barren and windswept wasteland to strange destinations. At the heart of the Crossroads is where the four roads meet, where one can find the only directions on the plane, and where its newcomers invariably wind up before embarking on other travels. Arrival Making one's way to the Great Crossroads is an unorthodox process; traving there is impossible, and so would-be travelers must seek out an iris or work the Rite of the Open Road to create one. Irises appear as forks in the road. A mountain path might have a turnoff that hadn't been there the day before, or a small alleyway might appear off of a major street in a Waster metropolis. The iris invents terrain around it similar to the environment it's found in. Wherever they appear, irises remains open for 1d8 days or until used, whereupon it and its path vanish. At the end of each iris' path is a shimmering patch of air. This portal takes the traveler to the center of a dusty crossroads in the middle of a vast wasteland. A signpost lies there, a marker of their achieved destination and journey renewed. *'Note '''A person, having passed through an iris once, can train themselves to seek out that resonance in the future. They may qualify for the Iris Sensitive feat. The Signpost A thin wooden pole juts up out of the ground, like a threadbare flagpole, in the middle of a circle of well-trodden dust. New travelers appear from ephemeral dirt paths surrounding the signpost. One wooden arrow points to each of the roads, and at the base of the signpost lies a plaque. Thoroughly tested by many travelers, its words can be understood by any creature that understands a written language. ''"The Road, once lost, is not easily found." '' At the signpost travelers on the Great Crossroads may meet and rest. The extraplanar geometries of the plane tend encourage solitary travel, but the Signpost has become the unofficial birthplace of many strange journeys. Departure To leave the Great Crossroads there are no fees to be paid, no toll-taker to answer to, no guardians to heed. A traveler must pick a road and walk until they reach their destination. The road a traveler chooses, and the companions they travel with, may influence their destination A traveler in a hurry will arrive at their destination much less quickly than one content to enjoy the journey. The shift from road to destination is made when the character loses focus of the road and lets their mind wander, before snapping back into focus with the realization that they are suddenly somewhere else. This process usually takes 1d4 hours, but may vary depending on the traveler and their actions while on the road. The Great Roads Every traveler needs a trail, and below are the four roads departing from the Signpost. Home ''"I was takin' Rupert and Pod back to the barn for supper when I noticed it. Some fool'd gone and dug a path around the barn, but with the rain not comin' for another few months, we'd have corpseweed stinking up the place in no time. I walked 'round a corner right into a gods-damned portal. Lucky enough my Paw taught me my letters; I saw directions for a road going Home and set off. A few hours later, I found myself comin' round the corner of my neighbor's barn. Damndest thing." : — Isiah Xilos Tomas, Farmer Walking this short and straightforward route will take its traveler somewhere familiar, safe, and not far from home. Many travelers consider the road going home before choosing their final destination, while hardened, dedicated travelers may scoff at the notion. The other three roads lead to places foreign, unknown, and unkind. Far better to take the road going Home and live to tell your strange story. The road going Home can only be traveled individually. Groups that embark together find themselves separated from their companions before reaching their destination, unless they are likely to arrive at the same place. Away "I'd been working under the guidance of the Arcanum for forty years by that point, do you understand? When I found the iris, I didn't hesitate or consider what the road going Away might throw my way. I was brash, impetuous. When I finally reached the end of the road, I was blinded by burning sun and scorching sands. Now, I'm no fool. I thought I was ready for anything, but if I hadn't prepared a teleportation spell earlier that day, my unlucky bones would still be in the heart of the Dunes. " : — Galladia Numen, Arcanum Field-Researcher The road going Away promises only one thing; wherever it leads, it will be to somewhere (or something) foreign and dangerous. A monk born and raised in Romagon might find herself in the bloody fields of the Skirts, the endless oceans of elemental water, or the piss-reeking tunnels of the Undercity. The road going Away can be traveled independently or in a group. Solitary travelers have reported finding company while on the road. Somewhere "Which one? Oh, the scar over my eye! Good story, that. I took the road going Somewhere and popped up in the gateworks beneath the arena at Athaers. Unlucky me, I found m'self on the prisoner's side, and the guards weren't keen on listenin' to me tell them I didn't belong. To make a long story short, I ended up needin' to wrestle a Trenchteeth off'a me. It took me eye, I took its throat. After the match and settin' the guard straight, I buggered off. No sense in stayin' somewhere with fightin' Trenchteeth." : — Torvin Corvus M'raun, Dwarf warrior The road going Somewhere will take you to an event in progress; always interesting, sometimes dangerous, and oftentimes complicated. Travelers have reported to attend the feast-festival following the year's last harvest of flame fruit, unexpectedly popping into a recently-murdered Imperial nobleman's bedroom, and finding one's self wandering the backstreets of Falair the night before a Black Jubilee. The road going Somewhere can be traveled independently or in a group. Solitary travelers have reported finding company while on the road. Nowhere "It's the feeling you get driving down a wasteland road at night. It's eerie, you're going somehwere you can't know, and you feel like anything can jump out at you at any time. But nothing does. There's nothing for miles. It's just you and the road." '' : — Dr. Thomas Branson, Waster Inventor This road takes its travelers to an unfamiliar and foreign path, be it a lonely trail through the Free Wastes, an Asgardian mountain range, a Romagoni pilgrimage, or steps carved into the heights of the Nemean Alps. The alluring promise of a road untraveled is why the road going Nowhere in Particular is the most commonly-traveled road of the four. This road is particularly loved by wanderers and wayfarers, those that choose to return time and time again to the Great Crossroads and her many destinations. The road going Nowhere can be traveled independently or in a group. Losing the Road When a traveler ignores the signpost's warning and steps off the road into the vast emptiness of the Great Crossroads, they play a dangerous game. Much in the same way that one transitions from road to destination, the transition from found to lost plays on perceptions. As long as the individual (or an individual, if an entire group is foolhardy enough to wander off the road at once) can maintain focus on the road, all is safe, and a return to the road is not difficult. At the end of each round off of the road, a character must make an Autohypnosis check DC '(5 + 1 for each previous check). Not physically seeing the road increases the DC by 10. The DC resets to 5 upon returning to the road. Success indicates that the character has managed to keep the road in focus and in their mind's eye. Failure results in the character losing the road, as it vanishes from sight. Characters can find their way back to the road by making a DC '''(25 + 5 for each previous check) Survival check once every hour. By succeeding, a lost traveler manages to find their way back to the heart of the Great Crossroads and the signpost, while failure drives them further and further from salvation. Being lost in the wastes of the Great Crossroads is a dangerous thing; unless a traveler can survive off of dirt and stone, starvation and thirst are serious dangers. No water runs in the riverbeds of this desolation, and no living life dwells in her barren wasteland Category:Planes Category:Locations